Letters: Removal of John A. Macdonald statue inflames debate

The removal of John A. Macdonald’s statue from the Victoria city hall precincts should be hailed as a victory for all those intent on destroying English Canada to clear the way for the multicultural paradise currently in the making.

Who is next? Sir Wilfrid Laurier, an opponent of women’s suffrage, is certainly one possibility. The point is that few, if any, major historical figures could pass the test of being judged on the basis of the values and norms of the 21st century.

But if we are to be consistent, the same test should apply to First Nations, who are hardly paragons when it comes to political correctness, anymore than whites are. It is estimated, for example, that 20 per cent of the Aboriginal peoples occupying the Pacific Northwest at the time of the great voyages of discovery were, in fact, slaves. This is hardly surprising given that this peculiar institution was endemic among such peoples.

What is revealed by so malicious an act of vandalism is the uses and abuses to which history is put in order to advance the pet agendas of political, academic and cultural elites.

Larry Sharp, Vancouver

Replace statue with tribute to guy who united Canada

Although I was not aware there was a McDonald’s statue in Victoria, I am totally in favour of removing it. I think this statue sends the wrong message, especially to children and new mothers who might not be as well informed as the rest of us. It’s been scientifically proven that fast food is bad for you and causes obesity and other health problems. Our government should not be supporting these kinds of choices (especially from an American company like McDonald’s). Instead, our elected officials should focus on replacing the statue with something from Canada’s rich history. It’s shocking how ignorant Canadians are about their own country. Many people have no idea how Canada was built and the struggles our ancestors faced — their triumphs and mistakes. Perhaps, after they take down McDonald’s statue, they should replace it with something about that guy who built the transcontinental railroad and united Canada from sea to sea. After all, as a wise person once said: If you don’t learn from history, you can’t possibly defeat it.

W.D. Fyfe, Vancouver

Don’t destroy Macdonald statue; add to it

The City of Victoria is making a monumental error by removing the statue of our first prime minister from the grounds of City Hall.

Council thinks that this will somehow erase from history John A. Macdonald’s mistakes, as well as, of course, his achievements. This sudden virus of political correctness that has infected so many people is dangerous and will make it more difficult to learn from our past. If we are to learn from history we must be faced with all of it, not some of it.

Would it not be better to leave the statue and explain the history of the man, good and bad, and add to that area either in statues or plaque the history of Victoria, its Aboriginal past, and the good and bad of the leaders of that time. This way, people will get a full understanding of the city’s past.

Brian Peckford, Nanaimo

Viewing history with modern lens is unfair

I’m tired of revisionist history. Taking down statues and changing building names whether for reconciliation or any other reason is wrong. History happened. We’ve done many wrong things in the past. People more than century ago made the best decisions they could with the information they had at that time. Viewing history with what we know today is unreasonable. Fortunately, we still have the opportunity to learn from our past mistakes, not destroy memories of them.

R.W. (Bob) Garnett, Richmond

Macdonald was responsible for B.C. joining Canada

This act will do nothing to further reconciliation with First Nations and is a nonsensical move since we cannot rewrite history. Have British Columbians forgotten that it was Sir John A. Macdonald who was directly responsible for B.C. becoming part of Canada, rather than joining the U.S.? This resulted from his promise to link B.C. with the rest of Canada by rail, which was accomplished. Residential schools turned out to be traumatic for many, but were done with the best intentions at a different time in our history. Since we cannot undo the past, we need to look at going forward, not always looking in the rear-view mirror.

Larry Comeau, Ottawa

Macdonald’s leadership made Canada what it is

I’m saddened at the removal of Sir John A. Macdonald’s statue. He was Canada’s first prime minister and a father of Confederation. Our country would not be what it is today were if not for his leadership in uniting us. No leader is perfect, but his service to this great country should not be negated. I’m a graduate Sir John A. Macdonald High School in Montreal.

Canada’s dispute with Saudi Arabia has revealed that “visa trainees” (including 800 Saudis) buy Canadian medical residency positions. Canadians seem surprised by this, and concerned that Canadians are excluded from these positions. It’s not surprising that universities and hospitals are accustomed to this foreign cash and free labour, despite the costs. “Visa trainees” work in hospitals and treat patients, yet are exempt from standard Canadian medical exams. “Visa trainees” occupy residency positions that our Canadian military needs to train medical officers to meet vacancies and coming retirements. “Visa trainees” go home — not fixing current or future doctor shortages. Residencies vacated by departing Saudis can be filled by qualified Canadian doctors, including those who earned medical degrees overseas in countries like Ireland, Australia, and the U.K. Perhaps an unintended benefit of this situation will be to give Canadians priority access to medical fellowships and residency positions in Canadian hospitals.

ICBA’s President Chris Gardner claims the Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) forces unionization on “85 per cent of construction workers”. He has come to this number by taking two distinct labour pools (residential and non-residential construction workers) and mixing them together to skew the data, even though the CBA will only cover non-residential construction projects. In fact, there are 69,000 non-residential construction workers in British Columbia and the B.C. Building Trades represents over 40,000 members — more than 58 per cent of the non-residential sector.

Gardner is also calling out the government for making sure fair wages are paid to all workers under CBAs. A recent poll of British Columbians suggests they don’t agree with him. The poll, release Aug. 9, revealed 70 per cent support building projects such as roads and bridges using CBAs, which provide union wages and benefits.

I have been a construction worker my whole life and I’m proud to have led this latest round of negotiations for the CBA that will give a whole new generation of apprentices, Indigenous workers and women access to those union wages, benefits and training.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.